Category Archives: Announcements

In addition to putting on shows, the mission of Theatre Company of Saugus (TCS) has been to educate our membership about theatre.  We have done this through many workshops over the years, as well as through our annual summer Youth Theatre Workshop.

For many years TCS has awarded a modest scholarship to a graduating college-bound senior at Saugus High School (SHS).  With the recognition that many TCS members do not live in Saugus, we are initiating a new additional scholarship intended for TCS members that do not go to SHS. 

The new scholarship amount is $300, and is intended for those who will be attending college or graduate school in the fall of 2023.  The recipient should be a participant in past or current TCS productions or activities.  Preference is given to those who intend to study theatre or related arts.

Applications for the first award of the new scholarship are now being accepted.  The online application form asks questions about your plans for school, and your experience with TCS.  The application must be completed by June 30, 2023.  The winning recipient will be announced in mid-July.

Access the application by clicking on this link.

If you have any questions about the new scholarship or the application, please write to us at:  tcsaugus@gmail.com.  (The recipient of the original scholarship has been selected and will be announced by SHS.)

The Theatre Company of Saugus joins many others in mourning the unexpected passing, on April 16, 2023, of Jaie Deschene, a director and actress active with several community theaters in our area. She directed This Getting Old is Getting Old, which was part of our short play festival Lovely Thoughts and Other Stories, presented in March 2022. She was also cast in the role of Nell in our March 2023 production of The Comedy of Errors, but left the production because of other commitments.

Click here for the obituary and visitation information.

We are sad to learn of the passing of Gerard “Jerry” Lebel, on January 3, 2023, at the age of 75. Jerry was a performer and director at the Theatre Company of Saugus, being most active in the 1990s. Click here for the obituary.

He was the director of the play Broadway Bound by Neil Simon, in about 1995. TCS members still around who were in that show include Rosemary DeGregorio and Larry Segel. He was in the 1999 production of Our Town, directed by Nancy Lemoine.

At our General Membership Meeting and Annual Holiday Party on 11 December 2022, we elected new members to the Board of Directors of the Theatre Company of Saugus. Three people had been nominated at an earlier meeting: Jeff Bliss, Billy Jenkins, and Sherri Raftery. In the meantime, Jill Sliby resigned, leaving one year left on an unexpired term. At the meeting on December 11, Lauren Lyon was also nominated, and the four nominees were elected to fill either the three-year terms 2023-2025, or the unexpired term.

Four people were also nominated and elected to one-year terms on the Alternate Board.

At the subsequent Board meeting on 14 December 2022, the Officers of the Board were nominated and elected by the board.

See our Board Members page for the complete list of current board members and officers for 2023.

We are invited to the Dedication of the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium at the Saugus Middle-High School complex. On Tuesday 13 December 2022. The dedication ceremony is at 6:30 PM. This is followed by the high school winter concert at 7:00 PM. The location is the new Saugus Middle-High School, at 1 Pearce Memorial Drive / Saugus, Massachusetts 01906.

The auditorium will be named after two teachers of performing arts who taught at Saugus High School for many years. Nancy Lemoine was the drama teacher until she passed away in 2013. She was also a member of the Theatre Company of Saugus throughout her life, as an actor, director, music director, workshop leader, etc.

Click here for more info about Nancy. Click here for more info about the dedication effort.

The General Membership Meeting at which we formally elect the TCS Board of Directors will be during our Annual Holiday Party, which will be on Sunday 11 December 2022. It will start at about 4:30 PM, because it will follow the matinee performance of our holiday cabaret For Your Wintertainment. This is an in-person event at the American Legion Post 210 / 44 Taylor Street / Saugus, Massachusetts 01906. All are welcome to attend, and all members may vote. The bar will be open, the food is potluck.

At our General Membership Meeting held via Zoom on Wednesday 2 November 2022, the following people were nominated. To a three-year term 2023 thru 2025 on the Board of Directors:

• Jeff Bliss
• Billy Jenkins
• Sherri Raftery

To a one-year renewable term on the Alternate Board:

• Heather Beatty
• Dylan Bushe
• Rosemary DeGregorio
• Lauren Lyon Bliss

Nominations of others can also be made at the meeting on December 11 just prior to the voting.  The nominated person should be present at the meeting so they can accept the nomination.

The board of directors has nine members.  There can be any number of alternate members.

Current continuing members of the board include:   Matt Garlin, Victoria Isotti, Larry Segel, Deirdre Shaw, Jill Sliby, and Ben Tan.  Jeff Bliss’ current term is expiring, and he is running for re-election.  Two members of the board are retiring:  Alicia Groves and Sean Perry.

Current alternate board members include:  Dylan Bushe, Rosemary DeGregorio, Billy Jenkins, and Sherri Raftery.

Officers of the board will be chosen by the board at their meeting on December 14.

Nominations are now open for elections to the TCS Board of Directors.  The board has nine members, each serving overlapping three-year terms.  Each person can serve for up to two consecutive terms.  The terms of three members expire at the end of 2022.  They or others can be elected for a term running 2023 thru 2025.

We also have Alternate board members, who attend board meetings and can vote if needed to make up a quorum.  Alternate members serve for one-year terms.

The Nominating Committee is now seeking candidates for regular or alternate board positions.  The nominating committee includes Dr. Sherri Raftery,  Larry Segel, Jilliana Sliby, and Ben Tan.  If you are interested in serving on the board, or would  like to recommend anyone else, please contact any member of the nominating committee.  Or  write to tcsaugus@gmail.com.  

The board elections will be held at our annual general membership meeting, to be held on Wednesday 2 November 2022, starting at 7:30 PM, via zoom.  The officers for 2023 (president, vice president, treasurer, corresponding secretary, recording secretary) will be chosen on December 14 at a meeting of the new, old, and continuing board members.

The board members whose terms are ending include Jeff Bliss, Alicia Groves, and Sean Perry.   Alicia and Sean have chosen not to run for another term, but Jeff will. So there are at least two openings for new board members. Other regular ongoing board members include:  Matthew Garlin, Victoria Isotti, Larry Segel, Deirdre Shaw, Jilliana Sliby, and Ben Tan.  Current alternate members include:  Dylan Bushe, Rosemary DeGregorio, Billy Jenkins, and Sherri Raftery.